Is The EPA Option On The Table?

The legislative path is totally dead. The Republican Party simply does not acknowledge unlimited dumping of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as a public-policy problem. Polls show that Republican voters are becoming even more skeptical of climate science even as the evidence strengthens. The administration does, however, have the chance to resolve the largest outstanding piece of the climate agenda by unilaterally imposing regulatory changes on power plants through the Environmental Protection Agency. Senate Democrats are laying the groundwork to back up Obama if he does so. This is the biggest single question of Obama’s second term, the issue that will probably determine his legacy more than any others.